Cook of the Week recalls her dad’s example and guidance.
PARIS – Doreen Simmons describes cooking as “effortless” because she enjoys it.
She credits her dad with getting her into cooking. “My dad was a great cook,” says Simmons. “He would say, ‘You cook by taste – you don’t need a recipe.'”
One of her father’s specialties was making homemade pasta for ravioli and lasagna. In the early days of her marriage, Simmons’ husband, John, spent eight years in the military. “When my parents came to visit, my father and I would cook together,” she said. Simmons also remembers her father sending her many different gourmet cooking magazines.
Simmons, a nurse at Central Maine Medical Center, and her husband, a doctor at Stephens Memorial Hospital, live on a farm in South Paris with their border collie, Tess. They raise dual-purpose sheep, selling their fleece and the lambs for meat. Simmons always saves two to three fleeces for herself so that she can spin the wool, another favorite hobby. Last month, they were busy getting their farm ready for Maine’s Open Farm Day.
Simmons says that her husband is the biggest admirer of her cooking. He says, “You can’t get a meal out as good as you can get here.”
She grows many fruits, vegetables and herbs on their farm. She says that it takes them 20 minutes to drive to the closest market, so she finds it more convenient to can, freeze or dry her produce so she has many ingredients available in her home.
Simmons says there isn’t any one appliance or part of her kitchen that is most important to her. She likes her entire kitchen “because I am surrounded by everything I need to do what I love, and that’s cook.”
Giving her friends and family “a dining experience that they will hopefully enjoy and remember” is what she enjoys most about cooking. One of her favorite quotes is by writer Virginia Woolf: “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well.”
Braised lamb shanks (recipe from the American Lamb Board)
Ingredients:
2 to 4 lamb shanks
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 yellow onions, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 cups full-bodied red wine
1 cup beef stock
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bay leaf
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Season lamb shanks with salt and pepper. In a large, deep sauté pan, which is ovenproof, over medium-high heat, warm olive oil until nearly smoking. Working in batches if needed, brown shanks on all sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer shanks to a platter. Add onions, celery and carrots to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are golden and translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, add wine and return to medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from the pan bottom.
Add stock, rosemary, garlic, bay leaf and shanks to the pan and bring to a boil. Cover the pan, transfer to the oven and cook until the meat is almost falling off the bone, about 2 hours. Using tongs, transfer shanks to a large serving bowl. Remove bay leaf from the cooking liquid. Using a blender or stick blender, puree liquids and solids until smooth. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour some of the sauce over the shanks and pass the rest alongside.
Serves four.
Sour cream apple pie
Ingredients:
1 9-inch unbaked pie shell
Filling:
1 cup sour cream
¾ cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups sliced tart apples
Crumb topping:
½ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
¼ cup butter
Method:
Mix the crumb topping together until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Beat together sour cream, sugar, flour, vanilla and egg. Add apples, mixing well to coat. Turn into pie shell and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with crumb topping and bake for another 20 minutes.
Tortellini & lamb country soup (recipe from the American Lamb Board)
Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1 pound boneless lamb (leg or shoulder), cut into ½-inch cubes
8 cups chicken or lamb broth
1 package (9 ounces) cheese tortellini
16 ounces tomatoes, chopped
1 pound mixed vegetables, (can be frozen)
2 teaspoons each garlic salt and Italian seasoning
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, if desired
Method:
Spray a large pot with nonstick cooking spray. Add celery and onion, and cook over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add lamb, cooking until brown. Mix in broth, tortellini, tomatoes, mixed vegetables, garlic salt and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve in soup bowls and sprinkle with cheese if desired.
Makes eight servings.
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